European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Italy gets out the vote continued from Page 5 one. Did not like. I Don t think i would like a dictatorship from the left any better. Unless t we get everyone to vote this time none of us May have a Chanceton vote again at least within our life  Young Man from Taranto who is working in Rome is going to make the trip Back to his Home town with his pregnant wife just to vote. I received letter from my father he explains. He is Over 80 years old. He said that unless i came Home and voted he would not consider i was a son of his  the trip will Cost this Young Man Well Over a month s salary but Hewill go taking his wife along and vote. Both he and his wife will cast their ballots for the Christian democrats. Of the approximately 29 million eligible voters it is estimated that with a tremendous Effort some 26 million ballots at the maximum will be cast. This would mean that the left coalition would get some 30 per cent of the vote. If he total vote should be somewhat less As seems Likely the leftist percentage would of higher. As one admittedly tight Wing shopkeeper put it if on election Day we had a combined earthquake flood epidemic Volcano eruption and Hurricane the reds would still poll their seven million  of the two imponderables women Are under heavy pressure fro the Church to vote anti-communist., As to the latter a Young and deeply religious girl explained in All sincerity that it too was under control. Go could make it rain on election Day she said and he s on our  As the most pessimistic observers estimate would happen under the mos Adverse weather conditions the left should poll As much As 40 per cent of the vote or if As the most optimistic claim is possible with Good weather and Luck the left Wing total should fall below 30 per cent the final result will be the same Italy is in for  the communists Don t discover that they have to defend themselves from Western imperialism before Sun Day and the elections Are run off As scheduled following the elections the leftists will want to participate in the new government. Premier Alcide de Gasperi will undoubtedly refuse. The posts the leftists demand Are quite naturally the ministry of Interior con trolling the police and the ministry of communications the refusal will prob ably be followed by a general strike engineered by the communist dominated Trade unions. If de Gasper gives in and takes the leftists into the government and gives them the. Posts they demand it will Only be a matter of time until they move in and take Over completely. If de Gasperi refuses then he will have to use troops to break the strike. Unless the communists Are will ing at this Point to write off Italy a lost to the West which seems unlikely. In View of the seven million ardent Fol Lowers it will be at this Point that Italy s civil War will begin. Several months May elapse Between the elections and this final showdown Tim enough the left May feel for the West Ern Powers to relax and More or less forget about Italy. But not enough Tim for Marshall plan Aid to become really effective arid thus sap at communist strength among the unemployed. The Choice of the time and place Fortis showdown is in the hands of communist leaders. Whether they move be fore during or after elections depends on their calculations As to when the chances of Success Are Best. Without the police and army on their Side however they will need outside help though the Yare known and have openly bragged that they Are Well supplied with Small arms. But Don t think that the Battle is Only Between the Togliatti forces of the left and the de Gasperi Christian democrats. Besides the government bloc of republicans right Wing socialists liberals and others there Are such group Sas the new fascist party the italian social movement. Out and out fascist it uses Many of the same slogans songs and promises which were peddled by Mussolini. Further these old henchmen occupy key positions. And they can Geta Large vote from people who recognize the old saws and feel comfortable in old shoes. Though the eyes of the world arson Italy s voters though the posters and leaflets Are exhorting demanding and cajoling the electorate the elections themselves cannot resolve Italy s bitter political division. The showdown will not come at the ballot boxes. The conflict will be resolved with More lethal instruments than pieces of paper. We re getting up d poker gome. Are you a 01 do Rem ruler in route vote less Triestino show Little interest in italian elections t Trieste this precarious toehold of the West. This focal Point of the world s inter est this powder Keg of the Adriatic is quietly minding its own business. The Triestino have been Able to get along with their various occupiers Ever since the romans moved in and took Oer in 33 . Although within the City itself the majority of the population is italian no one seems to worry much about the possibility of having to collaborate with the yugoslavs in the event the Cit should find itself under Tito s Rule some Fine morning. Perhaps it is with this possibility in mind that the Triestino Are apparently making themselves generally inoffensive or More accurately equally offensive to both sides. In the surrounding Countryside where the population is predominantly slav the communist propaganda line is straight slav nationalism and the sign painters work overtime plastering the Walls with their Tito slogans. Within the City itself the communist line takes a slightly different twist. Organization bearing such cumbersome names As the Italo slovene anti fascist Union hold spirited demonstrations and now and then manage a Small riot. These protest demonstrations seem to follow a def. Invite pattern. Starting with a strike in say a local shipyard a Parade follows culminating in a police licensed Mas meeting where the speakers Harangue the usually quiet and Well mannered crowd. Trie co inform pipeline furnishes the latest phrases with which the West is defamed. The proposal by the Western Powers to return Trieste to Italy caught the phrase makers Short. They could very Well oppose the Transfer and a1 the same time could t very Well put themselves in a position of agreeing with the capitalistic warmongers they seem to have lost what initiative they once. Had and must Content themselves with pure vilification. About the strongest arguments they can Muster at the moment seem to be slogans like Down with the Anglo american imperialists death to  and demands for territorial re vision along the French italian Border. This latter demand consisting of the return of the Briga Tenda area to Italy brought Forth Little response from the Triestino both because of the Remote Ness from Trieste and because the French and italian governments had Al ready been engaged in negotiations Over the disputed Region. This Lack of response to the moves of the co inform line mismatched by an almost equal Lack of response to the moves of the Western Powers. True the communist sponsored and dominated allies have shown Strong decrease in attendance since the Trieste proposals but there has been nothing faintly resembling dancing in the streets on the part of the anti communist elements. Their demonstrations Are drawing better crowds than they did a few months ago though with Little More enthusiasm than those of their rivals. The Lack of enthusiasm seems to in crease in direct proportion to the tries Lino s position on the social and eco nomic scale. In the More expensive restaurants and nightclubs where the Well to do congregate one might expect to find feeling running higher for the West. These upper bracket citizens How Ever Are even More phlegmatic or Reti cent about the current political  seem very adept at Fence sitting. They have maintained their Banks shipping companies and shipyards under several occupations and Are full convinced they can get along with who Ever is the next master of Trieste. The food in Trieste seems to reflect this Willy Nilly attitude especially i these fancier establishments. Although it May be a slight. Exaggeration it i said that Trieste is the Only City in Europe which has no character in its Cook ing. There is no sign of that excellence which characterizes genuine italian cooking. All the Richness and flavor which is the secret of italian cuisine has somehow got lost Over the Border to leave Only the Stod Giness of food which is prepared As nourishment but not As an Art. Triestino seem to have absorbed All the bad gastronomic influences of each of their occupiers. The latest occupiers the americans and the British have added their contribution. It Isnow possible to get Fried Chicken and beef and kidney pie. Whether this is a improvement is open to question. The americans in Trieste do not live quite so much to themselves As do their counterparts in Germany and  the Normal army population there 4s added a constant Stream of Sailor Sand merchant seamen from ships in the Harbor. Tor them Trieste is just a goo place to get out of in a hurry for a visit to Venice. Trieste probably has the quietest waterfront of any Adriatic port and As such holds Little interest to the seafarers. The american visitors include an occasional tourist from Germany or Austria who drop in now and then perhaps in the Hope of picking up so mex supplies or maybe a hamburger. Since most such tourists Are on single visit visa to Italy and do not realize that they Are leaving italia territory when they enter Trieste their stay is usually extended for a Day or so while they get a new italian visa. The rage with which some of them return to Trieste after being turned Back at the italian Border is monumental. Al most any afternoon in almost any bar frequented by americans the. Wails of anguish and anger Rise High As the stranded tourists Tell each other an anyone else within earshot their tale of  other afternoon a rather round american woman from Germany fresh from an unsuccessful attempt to get out of the City gave the italians an unusually thorough going Over.  she said. That what they All Are. They re not very grateful for All we be done for them. Iguess they Don t want Trieste. What we ought to do is just not give the Trieste and just let those communists have it. That d  pm a  when she paused for breath another american in the same boat told her she must have three photos for her new visa within forty eight hours. She was speechless for the first time in several hours but not for Long. The business of getting an italian visas particularly irksome and hectic. To Start Wiki italian officials Are prob ably some of the most disgruntled  in the world. Unless a visitor happens to hit it very Lucky with unofficial who has a special sympathy for americans he is Apt to be shuttle around from pillar to Post without mercy. The psychology seems to be Shatas Long As one has no \ Isa one is from the official viewpoint something considerably less than a human being. The result is that there is much Dis Comfort standing around Grimy Little offices for hours in queues and filling endless forms the italian visa application form is one of the longest of it kind which does not smooth tempers. Since the free City of Trieste is Nota part of Italy the guards must require the proper visas for entry into Italy and in View of the approaching italian elections and the tenseness Are being very careful about who crosses the Border into that part of Italy which is claimed every week or so by the yugoslavs. Along with this careful Borde Check the italians have moved a heavy concentration of troops into the area ostensibly to keep order during the elections but also to make any territorial grab on the part of Tito a Little More difficult although the possibilities of such a grab seem to occupy the attention of the outside world along with the approaching italian elections the mount ing tenseness seems to be passing Trieste by for the moment at least. As for the italian elections the Triestino Don t seem to care much. With the East an West making a play  italian voters sympathies in the matter of Trieste they figure they can t lose no matter which Side wins. And As for the elections in Trieste itself there won t be any not even for do Catcher when the italians go to the polls sunday. A. C. Oliver weekend. April 17 1&